S. England suggestions?

If you are going to do a couple of nights in Salisbury, I have enjoyed staying at Cathedral View B&B. The owners Steve and Wenda are so nice. Steve makes his own bread along with jams and marmalade and cooks breakfast. They are both so well informed about the area and give great tips.

It’s very easy to take the local bus out to Stonehenge. It runs a loop all day stopping at Stonehenge and at Old Sarum on the way back to town.

I’ve visited Cornwall in May and October. Both were great. I loved the flowers in May but it seemed like there were fewer crowds in Oct.

I highly recommend a visit to St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall. If you are serious Stonehenge fans, plan enough time to walk (or take a tour) out to Woodhenge and Durrington Walls, located at the eastern end of the Stonehenge property.

As for time of year, late April to early May would give you nice long days (since it's after the spring equinox), spring flowers, and likely cool but not cold temperatures.

Many thx for all the replies.

Cornwall and the south west is green for a reason - it rains a lot compared to the east of the country! The last two Septembers, we have curtailed holidays in Devon round about 20 September due to wet and windy weather.

Late May and early June or early September would be my choice of dates, but it depends on the length of your trip. It sounds as though your trip is 3-4 weeks?

Check out sawdays.co.uk for some great B & B options - I have found some great places through this website.

We just returned from a 15 night trip similar to what you are planning.

• 3 nights in Canterbury
• 3 nights in Salisbury
• 3 nights in St. Ives (Cornwall)
• 3 nights in Bath
• 3 nights in London

We did a day trip to see the Dover Castle from Canterbury and a visit to Stonehenge from Salisbury. We had a wonderful trip! I strongly urge you to follow Pam's advice above,

If you are going to do a couple of nights in Salisbury, I have enjoyed staying at Cathedral View B&B.

Steve & Wenda are wonderful hosts!

If you stay in Bath (other than London the most touristy of our stops) I do not suggest staying at the Henry Guest House. It was not bad. The location was good, breakfast was decent, but the operator/owner was nowhere to be found except for breakfast.

If you go to St. Ives and want to splurge a bit, I definitely recommend staying at the Blue Hayes Hotel (it's actually a B&B with only 6 rooms but run like a hotel). The owner (Malcolm) and staff (Kirsty, et. al.) there made our stop there the highlight of our trip. Book early as it fills quickly with repeat guests.

We generally travel in May and September to avoid the main tourist crush, higher hotel and airfare prices, and the excessive heat (not much of a heat issue in the UK). We have toured outside of London as late as mid October with good weather.

If you enjoy art, there is a beautiful Hauser + Wirth gallery at Durslade Farm in Somerset. Beautiful collection and rotating exhibits, gardens, outdoor sculpture, Roth Bar and Grill for a bite, and an overall lovely setting / experience. Trends toward the modern / contemporary art scene but really, really good stuff if you appreciate that sort of thing. Free admission. I go to the one in Los Angeles regularly and try to visit their other locations around the world whenever I can - they are all quite unique. Not long ago, heard Alexander Calder's grandson give a talk and they displayed Calder's work in the courtyard and in one of the galleries...things owned by the family foundation and normally not on display. Quality exhibits.

A lot of good suggestions so far. We loved Salisbury (wouldn't do 3 days there), Winchester, Windsor Castle, Oxford and Bath.

Stratford Upon Avon is a bigger, we loved it. I am a Shakespeare fan, yes, but 5 Shakespeare sites are great and the city is old.

Our next British trip will be to Devon and Cornwall.

Visit Lands End Farm aka Roger Wilkins Cider Farm and taste true Proper Cider!!!! The best!

From Exeter on your way to Cornwall you could drive to Dartmoor National Park via Moretonhampstead. There are a number of interesting places to visit with some dramatic scenery such as Hound Tor rock (inspiration for Hound of the Baskervilles), the nearby deserted medieval village and Hay Tor Rock. Nearby Postbridge has a cool bridge.

There are a number of stone circles that you can hike to and walk around, often with no one else around.

All the best,

Raymond

Hi JS,
I just returned from England. This is from my trip report:
Bath - 4 nights. Yes, Rick is right! Great place to get over jet lag!
Stayed in a charming B&B - Marlborough House. https://www.marlborough-house.net/ Peter is the owner/host and he is delightful! Great at communicating before our trip and a wonderful host. He cooks a delicious full English breakfast in the morning while his assistant, Lilly who "has been working with Peter for years" serves the delicious food and makes a perfect cup of tea.

In Bath, we walked everywhere including the excellent 2 hr. free walking tour led by the Mayor's Corps of Honorary Guides.
Enjoyed touring the Roman Baths and having lunch/tea afterwards at the reasonably priced "Hands Georgian Tearoom." http://www.handstearoom.co.uk/ Another day we did a beautiful walk along the canal to the village of Bathampton with a nice pub lunch at the "George Inn." https://www.chefandbrewer.com/pubs/somerset/george-inn/

From Bath, we took a small group tour with https://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/ to Stonehenge that includes Avery Stone Circles and some other stops along the way. I was so happy that I booked the "Special Access Stonehenge tour" where we arrived in Stonehenge at twilight after the site had closed and joined only 30 other people in the inner circle for an incredible hour.

Have a wonderful trip!

I can tell you that the month of May was lovely this year in that area. We loved Salisbury, Used it as a base to see Stonehenge, Avebury, Old Sarum, a wee bit of Bath, and Salisbury. Wish we’d allowed more time just for Salisbury. We did not take the tourism office town walking tour until our last day and if we’d taken it the first day, we’d have included some additional sights. As it is, we’ll need to go back, darn it!